My River
by Ashi Ruby
Summary: It's only them and the nature around them when they sit by the edge of the river. A one-shot songfic to Live's The River. KabuSaku.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the song The River by Live.

Author's Note: As I was listening to this song, I got some KabuSaku images in my head, so I decided to put those images to good use. So here's another songfic to my favorite pairing!

My River

Kabuto groaned out in pain as he sat down, his back against the large tree and his eyes facing the rushing water of the river. _'I can't go any farther tonight, not with these injuries. I'll have to continue tomorrow, when I have more chakra,'_ he thought, letting out a sigh as onyx stared out at the crystal clean water, only enhanced in beauty by the full moon above. "At least I have a peaceful scene to stare at as I go to sleep," he said softly; he did enjoy the simple things in life. He closed his eyes and began to doze, his ears still alert just in case.

_It came without warning_

_A love like I ain't ever felt before_

His eyes jolted open at the sound of a cracking stick and approaching footsteps. "Who's there?" he called out, standing up with difficulty in defense and taking a kunai from the pouch wrapped around his leg.

"You're hurt."

His eyes widened, taken aback by the soft voice that came from the person he was ready to threaten with the knife in his hand. The voice was familiar, and soon came the face of its owner, equally familiar and unique as he remembered it.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Kabuto-san."

She came out more from the shadows of the tree, the pale moonlight shining down on her bright pink hair and only lightened more the color of her pastel blue evening dress. "Come, over here. I'll heal you," she said softly, sitting down on the edge of the river, removing her thin slippers and placing her toes into the chilly night water.

_She's like my destiny calling_

_And she's lying there all naked on the floor_

He was hesitant, unsure of her intentions being the truth. After all, they were enemies, and for all he knew she was trying to trick him. "I'm not going to hurt you, Kabuto-san. Do I really look like I'm ready for a fight?" she asked softly, emerald eyes sincere and her smile calm. He released a deep breath and placed the kunai back in the pouch, sitting down beside her.

She raised her hand and focused her green healing chakra into her palm, placing it gently over the first of the several wounds she saw. He stared at her concentrated face, eyes turned serious and her smile turned straight.

If he was allowed to say, the only word that he could use to describe the Sakura Haruno before him would be beautiful. In concentration or not, she was beautiful at this moment, by the river under the moonlight.

His thoughts were broken by soft humming, notes he almost didn't catch.

"What are you doing?"

"Healing you."

"No, the song."

"I was humming."

She moved her hand to another wound, "Have you ever got a song stuck in your head that you can't get it out, and all you can do is hum and sing it all day?" He was silent, giving her the implication that he hadn't had that feeling before. "It can be annoying," she said, "But, depending on the song, it can be wonderful."

She continued to hum, her hand moving to another wound. "If it's annoying you, then I'll stop," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, quieter than the humming. He grunted, not caring if she continued or not, and stayed quiet and still as she continued her work.

The sounds of her humming mixed with the flowing water, along with the warmth of her chakra began to lull the Sound nin to sleep, and she smiled calmly, "You must be very tired. Then again, with these injuries and the lack of chakra you have, I'm not surprised." He opened his closing eyes wide again to stare at her, purely meeting emerald. "This is a great place, though, to fall asleep. Relaxing and beautiful," she whispered, humming as she looked away to focus on the large wound on his stomach.

_And suddenly, out of the blue she's singin'_

"It's funny. We're enemies, and yet look at the position we're in."

"Right now...the title of enemies don't exist."

A thin, silver eyebrow raised at that statement. "At this moment, there is only you, me, and the nature around us," she finished, closing her eyes as she continued to hum. Her lips parted, her voice spilling out the lyrics of the song that enticed her.

_Oh, baby, let my lovin' ease your pain_

_Bring your burnin' skin to my river once again_

_I'll give you life_

_Oh, baby, let my lovin' ease your pain tonight_

She opened her eyes, then smiled. "There, that's the last one that needed major attending. The other wounds can just heal on their own. After some rest, you should be ready to go, Kabuto-san," she said, turning away from him and placing her hands into the water. He stared intently at the rosette beside him as she washed her hands and feet in the cool water of the river.

"Those words..."

"The chorus of the song. It's one of the reasons as to how the song got stuck in my head."

He was silent, taking off his sandals and following her pose, finding it surprisingly relaxing to have his feet in the cool water. Sure, he still had his suspicions of her appearance here, but as she said, it was just them and nature.

"What made you come out here this late at night? And in a dress like that? You know you are silently asking for trouble."

"Heh. Even in my evening dress I can still kick a guy's ass before they could even lay a hand on me. And as for your question, I came out here to get away from two perverts and their student."

She looked up at the sky and stared at the stars, chuckling softly as she did, "This will be the last time I'm sent on a mission with Kakashi-sensei, Genma, and Naruto at the same time. I don't think I'd be able to take another day of sexual innuendos and sexist comments." She yawned despite herself and looked back at the water. "I would ask why you're out here, but I can already tell the answer," she said, her toes making circular motions in the water.

"I'm surprised that in my state you didn't try to take advantage of my tired mind."

"Like I said before...we're not enemies here. At this point, really, I don't consider us to even be ninja. It's just you and me, greeted by chance here at the river."

He chuckled at that, looking up at the stars, "You have been speaking quite poetically tonight, Sakura-chan." She smiled, "Maybe so." They fell into a comfortable silence at that point, listening to the sound of the flowing water and crickets chirping in the tall grass of the forest surrounding them.

_She came without warning_

He looked over at her as she began to hum again, the familiar beat of the song filling the air again. He admitted to himself that the beat was beautiful, but he didn't know if it was because of the song or it was her. After all, he never seen the pink hair teen like this: completely innocent and dressed justly so.

_Like an angel come from Heaven in the night_

His eyes began to drift close, lulled by the calm around him. She looked at him and smiled, pulling him down to allow his head to rest on her lap. He was sent into a state of surprise, staring at her as she smiled sweetly, "You should get some rest Kabuto-san."

"Why?"

"Well, would you rather rest your head on cold ground?"

He was silent at that question, giving Sakura the assumed answer. With a sigh, he allowed himself to close his eyes and relax, nodding off yet staying half awake just in case. "You know...even after this is over, we'll still go back to normal," he said, only making her laugh softly. "I know, but for now we can just be...well, ourselves for the lack of the better word," she said, tucking back a stray pinch of hair behind her ear.

Silence overtook them, save from Sakura's humming, as they rested there by the river, her feet still in the water as a hand brushed gently through Kabuto's silver bangs. For the first time in his life, at least that he could remember, he was at total peace, much thanks to the young medic whom he shared his company with.

"Sakura-chan...why?"

"Why what? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Why are you being so kind to me? I'm not one that deserves this kind of treatment."

The words slipped out like nothing, surprising the medic to realized that he actually said that aloud. She only chuckled and brushed her fingers through his bangs again, "Even the most evil of people deserve love and care that all people want, need, or crave. You're no exception to that, even if you believe otherwise."

He sat up, rubbing his aching neck unconsciously, and stared at her intently, unbelieving of her words. Her voice was sincere and serious, the same emotions shining in her eyes. Onyx and emerald never clashed so seriously quiet like this before, not even when it was Sasuke facing the teen.

_Her kiss makes me tremble_

She leaned in and kissed his cheek, causing him to stiffen. "I guess I'm just the lucky one to fulfill that for now, huh?" she asked softly, fighting back the dark red blush that wanted to consume her cheeks.

_So she pulls me close and she holds me oh so tight_

She frowned, noticing how tense he became, and wrapped her arms gently around him in a quick embrace before releasing him. "I'm sorry Kabuto-san. I don't mean to make you feel so uncomfortable," she said, looking away from him in the embarrassment she was feeling. He only stared at her as her cheeks changed to the dark red she wanted to hide.

"It's all right. You caught me by surprise. No one...has ever shown me that type of affection before."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, then turned her head and wrapped her arms around him again, holding him tight and close. "I see," she whispered, inwardly feeling sorry for the man. He sighed, allowing himself to relax again as she brushed tender fingers through his hair, tied back in a ponytail as usual.

"It must be lonely."

"Hm?"

"To not feel affections like this."

"I guess. I never had a need for them before."

"I see."

_Then suddenly, out of the blue she starts singin'_

He closed his eyes, lulled again by the calm around him and the feeling of his own sleepiness. She hummed softly, barely audible, then began to whisper the words she sang minutes before.

_Oh, baby, let my lovin' ease your pain_

_Bring your burnin' skin to my river once again_

_I'll give you life_

_Oh, baby, let my lovin' ease your pain_

"It has."

Sakura looked at him, surprised by the words, "It has what?" He smirked, bringing a hand to rest on her cheek, "Replay the words in your head." She did as told, then promptly gasped and turned her gaze away towards the water.

_I'll give you life_

"Well, um...I'm glad I was able to help."

_I'll give you life_

He forced her to look back at him, to have emerald and onyx clash yet again.

"You did more than help, Sakura-chan."

His lips brushed against her, "You truly eased my pain."

_I'll give you life_

She smiled softly, her whispered voice brushing hotly against his close lips, "I'm glad that I could, Kabuto-san." Their lips met firmly, slowly breaking apart when the need for oxygen was too great. His eyes still closed, he felt himself drifting off, only hearing her soft voice whisper a piece of the lyrics.

_Oh, baby, let my lovin' ease your pain_

His eyes jolted open, finding himself alone. Just him and the nature around him. "Sakura-chan?" he called out, receiving no answer. _'Did I just dream all of that?'_ he questioned himself, his hand unconsciously grabbing his side. His eyes widened; the wound was healed, leaving only the rip and dried blood in his shirt. "It wasn't a dream," he whispered.

_Bring your burnin' skin to my river once again_

_I'll give you life_

The words rang loudly and he turned to the source of the sound, noticing the owner of the voice was still there. "You woke me up, Kabuto-san. But I guess that's a good thing," Sakura said, yawning as she stared at him with half-lidded eyes, "You're not very observant when you wake up, are you? I'm only a foot away from you, yet you called out my name like I wasn't there. Did you think I was a dream or something?"

He sighed, "Obviously, if I said that." She chuckled lightly, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm not a dream," she said, "And I'm glad you're not either." He didn't respond to that as he brought his hand to hers, interlocking their fingers as if making sure.

"Yeah. I'm glad too."

_Oh, baby, let my lovin' ease your pain, yeah_

_Bring your burnin' skin to my river_

"I should get back to them before they start searching for me."

"I should be getting back to Sound."

They each sighed, their thoughts echoing one another. _'But I really don't want to.'_

They stood up, staring intently at each other before allowing their lips to connect one last time. "We may be enemies once we split up, but..." she said, her lips forming a smile, "When we're here, it's just you and me."

"Yes. You, me, and the nature around us."

"Mmhmm...good bye Kabuto-san."

With slow steps she walked off in the direction of her teammates, mentally sighing with the regret of leaving. He only smirked as he went the opposite way, towards Sound and the sad, bitter loneliness that Sakura provided only a temporary cure for.

"Good bye for now, Sakura-chan."

_'Until we meet again here.'_

_Oh, to my river

* * *

_

I know this seems a bit strewn together and such, but so were my thoughts when I came up with it. Hey, what can you do?


End file.
